Connecticut western news., 1887-01-26
NOISY FISHES.
Some Mysterious Sound ds
 That Come from the Sea.
Various Noises, Mu icaI and Otherwise
 Made by the Finny Tribe

Various Noises, Mu ical and Otherwise,
 Made by the Finny Tribe.
 Oftcntimes noises that como from the sea, and are seemingly unexplainable, proceed from certain small animals. That many fishes utter sounds is we'll known; as many as sixty different spc,- cies of inny vccalists have been heard from time to time.
 Anumbcr of years ago, while on fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico In the vicinity of Yucatau, hauled in a small fish, known to science as the H;emulon, and 10 sailors as the gruut; and never was fish better named, as no sooner did I take it in hand than it rolled a most expressive pair of eyes as far as a fish could roll them and commenced m appeal that quite astonishcd mo. First the grunts were low and uttered sing]y; then they grew louder and faster, until finally the fish hurled at me perfect volley of sounds that accepted as an cntrcaty for mercy and hurricdly tossed him back. Later I caught many grunts, and they were all very talkative out of water, but whether these sounds could be uttered in their nativo element it would be difficult to determine.
 Dr. c. c. Abbott heard the mud sun fish utter deep grunting sound, and the gizzard shad makes an audible whir- ring noise. The chub sucker utters a single prolonged note, while the catfish produces gentle humming sound. Ab- bolt believes, however, that tho most musical of the fishes is the eel, that ut- ters single note frequently repeated, ] and has a slightly metallic resonance. The fact that the organ of hearing in these musical fishes is very we'll devel- oped would seem to point to the belief that the notes were calls; and as the air bladder in fishes represents to some ex- tent the lungs of other animals, there is no reason for not thinking that the fishes have vocal communication.
 | The drumfish is one of the loudest takers in American waters. When the nets are hauled on the Jersey coast, and large numbers of dumbish are caught, their protests are often very loud. That these fishes utter sounds under water there can be no doubt. The sailors on vessels anchored off shore have heard the strange noise rising about them, and described it as boc-1-.,g, while others thought it ~~-~ ~~~ occasioned by drums be- ing beaten on shore. The fish utter the sounds, according to some authorities, by striking their pharyngeal teeth together, while other writers think that they beat their bodies against the sides of vessels to rub off certain parasites that infest them.
 A vessel lying in the China Sea some years ago had remarkable experience.
 The sounds that arose about her greatly alarmed the crew, and were described l by the captain as resembling escaping steam, the changing of bells, the notes
 of an enormous harp, with others diff.
 cult to describe. The concert lasted fol
 some hours and was attributed to
 school of fishes that was seen in the
 vicinity.
 That fishes utter sounds was knowr
 in very early times, and Aristotle ant
 Action both refer to the sound -utterin1
 fishes of the Mediterranean. The Cey
 lonese fishermen are familiar with fisl
 found in the Lake of Colombo, whicl
 they call "magoora," that makes a,
 audible grunt when disturbed; ane
 Pallegoix, in his history of Siam, re
 fers to brilliant fish, resembling ou
 founder, which the natives call "dog'
 tongue" that attaches itself to boat
 bottom and gives out variety 0
 sounds.
 Consid crable excitement was occa
 stoned at Batt;cola, Ceylon, numbe
 of years ago, by the report that musi cal sounds were heard rising from tn , sea in various places. Sir E. Tenncn
 visited the locality and interrogatct several fishermen who had heard tn
 notes, and described them as resem bling the faint sweet notes of a Eolian harp. According to the men they were only audible during the dr. , season, and they had always known c them, and their fathers before them l They said it was not fish tha sang, but shell or mollusk f which they called in the Tamil tonga f the corie cooleeroo cradoo, or crying shell
 the name evidently being an attempt t
 reproduce the sound. The men SEQ
 pointed out some of the musicians, wh;c proved to be the shells known to scienc as Litlorina lsevis and Centhum palus Tennent engaged the men to take him 5 tho spot, and one moonlight night the rowed him to locality about 200 yard northeast of the jetty by the fort gate . and while the boat rested in perfc< ' silence, not @ breath of wind blowing | distinctly heard the musical Eotes, T ''They anne up from the watcr," | > says, ''like the gentle thrills of music; | chord or the faint vibrations of a win! Il glass when it's rim is rubbed by !. moistened finger. It was not one sus s tained note, hut s multitude of tin , sounds, each clear and distinct in itsel Il the sweetest treble mingled with tf 0 lowest bass. On applying tho car to tf y woodwork of the boat the vibration W, c greatly increased in volume. The soune varied considerably at different points